Lesson Plan for 2013-11-25: Self Defense

As most of you know, I am an almost pure sports jiu-jitsu practitioner. It’s not because I don’t value the self defense aspects of jiu-jitsu; it’s because I will spend infinitely more time as a sports jiu-jitsu practitioner than as someone who is defending himself in a fight. I don’t put myself in positions where I have to defend myself.

That being said, it is always possible. While sports jiu-jitsu can go a long ways towards keeping me safe from assault, I always try to keep some old school Gracie jiu-jitsu self defense oriented stuff in my back pocket. The self defense techniques are also the first thing I show random people when they ask about jiu-jitsu because with that it’s easier to understand the practical aspects of jiu-jitsu. Explaining a triangle to armbar transition isn’t going to convince anybody to start jiu-jitsu.

So tonight, we will be going over some of the self defense scenarios that Royce taught me last Thursday. And for the pure sports jiu-jitsu guys, I’m going to show you how tonights exercise is actually highly beneficial for your sports jiu-jitsu training.

We are all ambassadors for jiu-jitsu, and to leave out self defense from your training leaves you handicapped when it comes to convincing people the benefits of jiu-jitsu. Get in tonight and fill in an important checkbox for fundamentals training!